The mission of Unity Productions Foundation (UPF) is to counter bigotry and create peace through the media. UPF produces films that tell compelling stories for television, online viewing, and theatrical release. These films are part of long-term educational campaigns aimed at increasing religious and cultural pluralism, especially among Muslims and other faiths.  Here is a quick video intro.

FILM #1 – American Muslims Fact v Fiction

(11 Minutes)

UPF’s American Muslims: Facts vs. Fiction (updated 2024) we address the most persistent stereotypes and misconceptions of American Muslims by presenting the most up to date from public opinion surveys and social science research. We do this to address some of the most common questions Americans have: Do Muslims serve and contribute to America? How does the religiosity of Muslims compare to that of other faith communities? Does the Quran promote hate?

But we also challenge the audience by asking them to confront uncomfortable realities about discrimination against American Muslims by sharing those facts as well. Islamophobia is on the rise and is particularly pronounced during political campaigns, where prejudiced remarks about Muslims are used to amplify existing fears.

After presenting UPF film content to the U.S. Department of Justice, DOJ encouraged UPF to compile this content into a short film, to enrich their educational programming across communities and law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Link to View & Download:

https://vimeo.com/895886544/0db3bdfae5

Educational Objectives (for showing in High School Civics): 

• Contemporary discussions regarding the First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.

• Communicating with government officials, discussing current events and respecting differing opinions in a diverse society.

• Understanding diversity, stereotypes and prejudice.

FILM #2 – The Great Muslim American Road Trip

(3 Episodes 1 Hour Each)

Follow a millennial Muslim American couple on a cross-country journey along historic Route 66. As they meet new friends and explore more than a dozen stops, Mona and Sebastian weave a colorful story about what it means to be Muslim in America today.

Episode 1 | Life is a Highway: Chicago to Joplin, Missouri

Join Mona Haydar and husband Sebastian Robins as they drive the first leg of Route 66 and discover America’s Muslim roots, a history that goes back to the 1800s. Along the way, the young couple experience some tests in their relationship.

Episode 2 | A Bridge Over Troubled Waters: Tulsa to Albuquerque, New Mexico

Mona Haydar and Sebastian Robins learn why many African Americans converted to Islam, how Muslims excelled in modern jazz and why Catholics and Muslims revere the Virgin Mary. The couple celebrate their ninth anniversary on a mountaintop.

Episode 3 | Back on the Road Again: Arizona, Nevada, California

Mona Haydar and Sebastian Robins meet setbacks and surprises while driving the last leg of Route 66. They learn about a 16th-century Muslim explorer and a Syrian camel driver who surveyed Route 66 and find an unlikely Muslim village in Las Vegas.

EPISODE 1 – TEASER

https://youtu.be/fr3b9ubyeNc?si=2CoC24tE8zt0zI8s

EPISODE 2 – TEASER

https://youtu.be/dk32yobLMGw?si=KAqAefdtPLkVtS5k

EPISODE 3 – TEASER

https://youtu.be/Pq6aKUnTwLs?si=3ZV56m9Yz1FB9DD4

FILM # 3 – Prince Among Slaves: The True Story of an African Prince Enslaved in the American South (58 minutes)

In 1788, the slave ship Africa set sail from the Gambia River, headed for American shores with its hold laden with hundreds bound in chains. Eight months later, a handful of survivors found themselves for sale in Natchez, Mississippi. One of them, 26-year-old Abdul Rahman Ibrahima, a highly educated African prince, and heir to a kingdom made an astonishing claim to Thomas Foster, the plantation owner who purchased him at auction, that the bedraggled Abdul Rahman’s father would pay gold for his return. Foster dismissed the claim as a lie.

Prince Among Slaves tells the story of Abdul Rahman, trilingual, a military general and heir to a West African nation the size of Great Britain, who did not return to Africa for 40 years. In that time, he toiled on Foster’s plantation. He married a fellow slave, Isabella, and they had nine children. Gradually, he also became the most famous African in America, attracting the support of President John Quincy Adams and Secretary of State Henry Clay. Abdul Rahman returned to Africa at the age 67, only to fall ill and die just as word of his return reached his former kingdom. Throughout a life of Shakespearean dimensions, Abdul Rahman maintained his dignity and hope for the freedom of his people.

https://youtu.be/-ukNZizqrrg?si=T7IBuvNXLC9lzZUU

Educational Objectives for High Schools:

• Describing West African civilizations of the Middle Ages in terms of geography, society, economy, and religion.

• Knowledge of the status and impact of global trade on regional civilizations of the world after 1500 A.D. (C.E.) by describing Africa and its increasing involvement in global trade.

• How the values and institutions of early American economic and political life including slavery reshaped European and African life in the Americas.

Prince Among Slaves Lesson Plan: 

https://www.upf.tv/wp-content/uploads/sites/196/2014/05/prince-among-slaves-lesson-plan.pdf

FILM #4 – Talking through Walls: How the Struggle to Build a Mosque United a Community (55 Minutes)

The film takes viewers into the life and struggle of Zia Rahman, a determined but ailing man, who sets out to build a mosque in his suburban community in Voorhees, New Jersey. Against the backdrop of post 9/11 fears that threaten to scuttle the project, a coalition forms that includes a Catholic Priest, two Rabbis, and a Buddhist, who join Zia to support his efforts. There’s power in their union and they ultimately succeed in helping to get the mosque built, revealing the best of American ideals at one of the most difficult times in American history.

https://youtu.be/4z_CTLH-MfE?si=-UXtDvBQG3fm_7O3

Educational Objectives (for High Schools):

• A contemporary discussion regarding the First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition;

• Communicating with government officials, keeping informed about current issues, and respecting differing opinions in a diverse society;

• Evaluating how civic and social duties address community needs and serve the public good;

• Understanding diversity, stereotypes, and prejudice.

Talking through Walls Lesson Plan (for High Schools):

https://www.upf.tv/wp-content/uploads/sites/196/2018/02/TTW_Discussion_Guide.pdf

FILM # 5 Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World

(90 Minutes)

This new ninety-minute film takes audiences on an epic journey across nine countries and over 1,400 years of history. It explores themes such as the Word, Space, Ornament, Color and Water and presents the stories behind many great masterworks of Islamic Art and Architecture.

The film explores the richness of Islamic art in objects big and small, from great ornamented palaces and the play of light in monumental mosques to the exquisite beauty of ceramics, carved boxes, paintings and metal work. It revels in the use of color and finds commonalities in a shared artistic heritage with the West and East. The film also examines the unique ways in which Islamic art turns calligraphy and the written word into masterpieces and develops water into an expressive, useful art form.

Like all art, Islamic art carries with it the fundamental values and perspectives of the artists who created it as well as those who commissioned and paid for it. It incorporates the basic themes of transcendent beauty common to all creative endeavors.

Narrated by Academy Award winning performer Susan Sarandon, this dazzling documentary reveals the variety and diversity of Islamic art. It provides a window into Islamic culture and brings broad insights to the enduring themes that have propelled human history and fueled the rise of world civilization over the centuries.

https://youtu.be/p_A74ZOSoek?si=JNpm1K8_KQaK8Irc

Educational Objectives (for High Schools):

• Describing the origin, beliefs, traditions, customs, and spread of Islam.

• Assessing the influence of geography on Islamic economic, social, and political development, including the impact of conquest and trade.

• Identifying historical turning points that affected the spread and influence of Islamic civilization.

• Citing cultural and scientific contributions and achievements of Islamic civilization.

Islamic Art Lesson Plan (for High Schools):

https://www.upf.tv/wp-content/uploads/sites/196/2018/02/Discussion-Guide-Mirror-of-the-Invisible-World-2013.pdf